NASA Astronaut Winston Scott Talks About The Future of Space

Winston Scott's resume is like few we've ever seen. A graduate of Florida State University, Naval aviator flying not only the F-14, F/A/-18, and A-7, but anti-submarine helicopters. Went into the space program with NASA and logged more than twenty-four days in space on shuttle missions performing space walks and work on the International Space Station.

Oh, and he plays a mean trumpet (went to FSU for the music program initially).

He is now going back to the space program overseeing Operational Excellence at The Kennedy Space Center. He is an overcomer, a patriot, and a wonderful man.

Episode Transcript

(00:13):
Five minutes after the hour. It'sthe second hour of the morning show with
Freslan Skock In morning. That's Grant. I am Preston, and it's a
delight to be with you this morning, whether you are listening on terrestrial radio
or iHeartRadio anywhere around the country,horror for that matter, around the world.
Last time I said that we hadlisteners right in from Taiwan. It's

(00:35):
just crazy. We got pictures froma high rise at Taiwan. Anyway,
Thanks so much for joining us onthe radio program, and I am thrilled.
You cannot keep an astronaut down.That's all I'm saying. You cannot
keep an astronaut down. And joiningus is Captain Winston Scott, US Navy,

(00:56):
retired NASA astronaut mission specialist and moreimportantly, back with the Kennedy Space
Center. Captain Scott, welcome back. How are you, sir? I'm
doing just fine. How are youthis morning? I am terrific good.
We just got started yesterday. I'mso excited me. I have Liken Kennedy
Space Center for people that live inFlorida to kind of like the Statue of

(01:19):
Liberty in New York. A lotof Floridians kind of forget that the Kennedy
Space Centers there. I think it'sa diamond. I love visiting there.
Tell us your new role with theKennedy Space Center. Well, I'm so
excited about my new role the KennedySpace In the official title is Director of
Operational Excellence, But to be morespecific, I'm the person that helps plan

(01:44):
the daily activities for the visiting public, specifically the actual real life flown astronauts
that appear at the Kennedy spacing ofvising A Complex to meet and greet the
public every single day that the visiA Complex is. So when folks come
in, then no matter when theycome, where they come from, they
have an opportunity to meet and spendtime with an astronaut. And I'm the

(02:07):
person that co ordinates all those visitsand presentations. It's a really exciting opportunity
for me. WHOA, So nowI didn't know about this. So a
visitor can can kind of take partin a special aspect of visiting Kennedy and
have some Q and a time withan astronaut. Absolutely, there's several programs

(02:30):
that go on during the daytime whenthe public inn beeing an astronaut. We
have a program called Astronaut Encounter.Well, the astronaut will give a presentation,
talk about his or her flights inthe space, and then Q and
A and then we have the moreintimates that can call a chat with an
astronaut. Chat with the astronaut isas I just said, more intimate is
limited to about thirty people, andthey get a chance to where they eat

(02:52):
and drink while they're talking with theastronaut. But it is an intimate chat
with an astronaut that has flowing inspace. Then they'll ordered round sessions,
they're photo sessions, shake hands andmeet and greet and so yeah, absolutely
they get a chance to meet.I gad, I'd like to said real
and yes, I'm alive, reallive. How many how many of the

(03:13):
men and women that are your colleaguesin the space program do you stay in
touch with routinely? Well, youyou kind to stand in touch with everybody
off and on, you know,even even people who are generations ahead of
me are generating the younger ones whoare generations behind me, you kind of
talk to them off and on.Two or three who live locally, I

(03:37):
talked with them all the time andthen some who are international. It's only
on occasion, so you know,we all kind of know each other.
For example, I know Vic theGlover, you know, who just got
named to the Artemus missions, sothe first you'll be the first African American
going around the Moons. I knowVicky's uh my son's age, but I
know him will Wellny. I alsoknow buzz Aldron, you know, who's
a couple of generations older than hesaid. We all know each other.

(03:59):
We we keep in touch and seeeach other periodically. What are your thoughts
on where the space program is rightnow with this kind of developing public private
partnership. I absolutely love it.In fact, what the private commercial companies
are doing is exactly what has beenneeded, and that is to make space
like more efficient and more cost effective. You know the government is very very

(04:25):
good about doing esoteric things, thingsthat haven't been done before. You develop
new equipment, go to new places, but to make it cost effective,
we need business people like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and also those companies are
doing exactly what many of us hopethey would do. They're making access to
space more afformiable infor more people cango it's great the Morning Show with Preston

(04:46):
Scott as one News Radio one hundredpoint seven WUFLA. You never know who's
listening to the program. And sowhen I said something yesterday about having Captain

(05:08):
Scott on the show, I wastold to ask you, sir, about
your skills with the trumpet. Likewe're listening, this is you playing the
trumpet at the Space Coach Jazz Societyback a few years ago. Okay,
so you can play the trumpet.Two yes. As a better of fact,

(05:30):
I attended Florida State University as amusic student. I actually into the
College of Music as a music student, and then later off got off into
the engineer an finished my music degree, my engineering degree and song So yes,
and you know what pressing It isnot unusual that people who do engineering,
mathematical and scientific things are also musicians. You know, Albert Einstein played

(05:55):
violin. You know John Glenn playedtrumpet, and the list goes on.
You. Yes, I am amusician, and that's a part of who
I am. Somehow, a lotof things in my own life now just
make perfect sense. I can't playan instrument worth a lick, all right,
So take me through the arc ofyour life. How is it that

(06:15):
you end up in the Navy asan aviator and then in the space program.
Well. As a youngster growing upin Miami, I was always interesting
in technology. I was kind ofthe kid that played with batteries and motors
and engines, and I wondered howthings worked. But in those days,
we did not have programs in myneighborhood to expose minority youth to engineering and

(06:39):
science, so I didn't get aproper exposure. That was a very very
good musician. I thought, whenyou went to college and you could just
study something at which you were alreadygood. My band direct to call the
FSU College of Music. I wasaccepted, no audition or anything, and
into the school as a music major. Well college as it is supposed to
rounding me out, I was exposedto engine began taking music and engineering as

(07:02):
a dual major. Did not havetime to sing. It's both degrees thing,
it's the music degree. Wondering howcan I finished an engineering degree?
Thought about the military and gi service, and thought about, you know,
what would I do in the military. Pilot applied for to the exams,
was accepting in the Naval Aviation intoNaval Aviation, flew for the Navy.

(07:25):
Navy sent me back to school forengineering, Stuggy flu for the Navy,
some more test pilot, and thenoff to the Space program. So that's
about eighteen and twenty years or so. All convinced about about the sixty seconds.
But that's kind of how it happened. When you talk about your flying
career, you flew helicopters as wellas jet fighters. Correct, that's right.

(07:46):
The US Navy trains everybody in airplanesand then some of us get additional
helicopter train which I did, soI was qualified in both. Which would
you rather fly, helicopter or jet? And if a jet, which one?
Well, I tell you what,Helicopter flying is some of the most
fun and challenging flying you could everdo. I actually flew anti submarine warfare

(08:11):
helicopters off the back of destroyers,but I also flew fighters. If people
have ever seen any of the topgun movies, I did for real.
The guy in the movie is theactor. But I did real top gun
flying and flew the F fourteen TomKat also the F eighteen. Nowadays they
fly the new eighteens called the SuperHooling and a flew was called the Legacy
Hornage. So I flew over twentyfive different airplanes and almost eight thousand thousand

(08:35):
flight time. Now, so ifyou were to have a choice right now
between flying let's say, the newF eighteen or even one of the new
Raptor planes or the new stealth fighter, or going back up into space,
which would you choose? Oh?Man, that's a hard choice. You
know what, if I could goand do something new and different, I

(08:56):
would go back to space. Bynew and different, I mean to the
Moon. I've done pretty much everythingelse you can do in space but walk
on the moon. And they weren'tsend me people to the moon in my
day. So I would love tobe a part of an Artemus crew they
actually goes to set foot on theMoon. That would be fantastic. How
important is it that we go backthere? It is incredibly important. We

(09:18):
need to go back to the moon, not only for technologies seeking understanding,
but the Moon is a stepping stonefor going further out into space. And
if the human race is going tosurvive, we have to move out into
space because one of these days,and of course you and I will be
gone, but one of these daysfour point five billion years and we'll have
the subst to burn out. TheEarth will be destroyed. So we're going

(09:39):
to survive as a species. We'vegot to move out in Going back to
the Moon is the first tiny stepto moving out into space and to ensuring
our survival. Captain Scott, Ithank you for your service to our country,
and it's great to hear you're goingback with the Kennedy Space Center.
I look forward to visiting with youagain. I hope we can have you

(10:00):
back on the show. Hey,I'd love to. I'd love you had
to come visit with us down hereand love to be back on the show.
Just say the word and we'll makean appen. I'd love it.
Thank you very much, sir,Thank you, Captain Wiston Scott. And
yes, he can play the trumpet. You just you just hurt. I
mean F fourteens, f eighteens,the seven helicopters, attack helicopters. Oh,

(10:26):
by the way, the space Shuttleand plays the trumpet. Unbelievable.
I gotta I'm gonna take him upon that. I'm heading back to Kennedy
because I love that place. Seventeenpassed the hour in the Morning Show